Snack vendor



1963 K. c. Z EIGLE ETAL 3,

SNACK VENDOR v Filed Sept. 50. 1960 (Sheets-Sheet 1 F425. J- INVENTORS.

KENNETH 6'. ZFTLE By ADRIANA. mm

Ema; ya/mm ATTORNEY 1963 K. c. ZEIGLE ETAL 3,113,656

' SNACK VENDOR Filed Sept. 30, 1960 4 Sheets$heet 2 INVENTORS. mmCZEIGLE BYMRIANA 1211172542 v wggmum ATTORNEY 4 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENTORS.

Dec. 10, 1963 K. c. ZEIGLE E'l Al.

SNACK VENDOR Filed Sept. so, 1960 M275 at 2.21am; BYAZZRLGNAWRSAL gm, 5?w 5 vm Tm G ATTO RNE Y IHHH .8 mik 4 90m, Mm. m9 vow i In 0% mm ww w m6Q N5 W k E m BJ mm mm United States Patent This invention relates tocoin operated vending machines and more particularly to such machinesvending different articles of the same price and without provisions formaking change for the purchase.

It is a general object of this invention to provide an improvement inthe apparatus for dispensing the articles only after certain conditionshave been met.

It is another object of the present invention to provide novel andimproved means for checking the supply of the article to be vendedbefore collecting the coins for payment and vending the article.

it is still another object of the invention to provide novel apparatusfor accepting the coins for payment before the article dispensing deviceis actuated.

it is yet another object of the present invention to provide improvedapparatus to prevent an article from being dispensed and having thecoins returned which were deposited for payment.

It is still further an object of this invention to provide improvedapparatus to prevent the vending machine from dispensing more than onearticle should any part of the apparatus malfunction.

it is another object of the present invention to provide novel apparatusfor rejecting all coins deposited in the vending machine while anarticle is being vended.

These and other features of our invention will become more apparent froma detailed study of the specification and the drawings attached heretoand made a part of in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the machine showing the various operatorcontrolled devices and the opening in the machine where the articles arevended;

FIG. 2 is an inside view of the vending machine with the front coverremoved showing the dispensing apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the circuits common to each of thearticles to be selected and a circuit associated with an article; and

PEG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the remaining circuits ssociated witheach type of article to be vended.

A vending machine 19 is shown in FIG. 1 having a discharge chute 11located near the bottom of its cabinet. Four display windows, 12, 13, 1and 15' are located in a removable cover 15 showing pretzels 12, peanuts13, potato chips 14, and popcorn 15 respectively. These productsrepresent the articles to be vended by the machine and it is anticipatedthat the articles may take on various shapes and forms, but for thisinvention will all be sold for the same price. A coin chute 17 isprovided in the upper left hand corner of the machine 1% and all thecoins are deposited in this chute through the slot in the cabinet.Adjacent to the coin chute 17 is a coin return switch 2t) which isgenerally known as a scavenge switch. A coin return chute 21 is locatedbelow the coin chute 17 and returns all coins not accepted by themachine. Situated adjacent to each of the display windows, are fourselector switches 22, 23, 2d, and 25 corresponding to the articles ofpretzels, peanuts, potato chips, and popcorn respectively, and they eachselect an article to be dispensed and energize a circuit associatedtherewith which will be more fully described later. Below the coin chute17 and above the coin return chute 21 is a lamp 26 which indicates whena particular article is no longer in supply after one of the selectorswitches is depressed.

FIG. 2 shows the different articles 12, 14, and 15 in 3,ll3,656 PatentedDec. 10, 1963 separate containers supported in racks 27 and an emptyrack is shown where article 13 should be. Several holes 3%, in thebottom of racks admit heat from a heater 28 where the articles to bevended will sell better in a warm condition. At the lowermost part ofrack 27 is a dispensing apparatus having a metal drawer 31 with no topor bottom. Below drawer 31 is a bottom plate 32 which forms a base fordrawer 31 to slide on and move across, and holes 3% are situated herein.

Situated in bottom plate 32 is an elongated slot 33 which extends fromthe forward part of the plate to the back part. Situated in slot 33 is apin (not shown) which slides therein so that metal drawer 31 is guidedforward when in motion. At the rear edge and part of drawer 31, is ashelf 34- attached at the uppermost edge so that when drawer 31 is movedforward, shelf 34 slides under the articles to be vended such as 12, 13,etc. Thus one article is moved forward in drawer 31 and eventually isdropped down discharge chute 11 while shelf 34 slides under the articlewhich is above the one being vended so that only one is discharged. Uponreturn of drawer 31 to its rest position, the article supported by shelf34 drops into drawer 31 and is ready to be vended.

A link 35 is attached to drawer 31 and is moved by a crank arm as (bothof which are partially shown) through a pivotal pin 37. Located in thebottom of the cabinet of vending machine 11? are four small openingsdesignated as ill, all of which are alike to admit four contact arms 41,42, 43, and 44 of switches 45, 4'6, 47, and 48 respectively which arecalled the run-out switches. Their operation will be explained morefully later in the specification.

Turning now to FIG. 3, the description of the coin operated apparatuswill be set forth. A power source 50 is connected to a ground terminal51 and to a terminal 52 of a power switch 53. For this particularembodiment, power source 56) is an alternating voltage source of voltsbut for certain applications other voltages may opcrate moresatisfactorily. Another terminal 54 of switch 5'3 is connected to anelectric lamp 55 and to one terminal of heater 28 with the remainingterminals of lamp 55 and heater 2% being connected to ground 51. Lamp 55supplies illumination to articles 12, 13, 14, and 15 displayed inwindows 12, 13, 14', and 15' respectively.

Coins are dropped into coin chute 1'7 and pass to a coin tester 55. Cointester 56 may be of the type shown and described in the HaverstickPatent No. 2,744,603 but since it does not form a part of the inventionper se, the details of its construction will not be set forth. It willbe sufiicient to say that it is adapted to receive coins of threedenominations, namely, five cents, ten cents, and twentyfive cents, andhas provisions for accepting or rejecting the coins. If the coins areaccepted, they pass through an accept chute 57 where they are depositedfor collection and if they are rejected for some reason they passthrough coin return chute 21 and may be retrieved.

In the first instance, let it be determined that the vending price is 20cents per article and that two five cent coins are deposited and one tencent coin is deposited, and in this order to actuate a plurality ofengagable connecting means in the form of switches. The five cent coinwill actuate a spring arm 69 which extends into coin tester 56 and whichis connected to a switch arm 61 of five cent switch 62. Switch 62 has apair of contacts 63 and 64 where contact 63 is normally in contact withswitch arm 61, and when the five cent coin actuates switch arm 61, itand contact 6- are momentarily connected. The ten cent coin actuates aspring arm 65 which extends into coin tester 56. Spring arm 65 isconnected to a switch arm as of ten cent switch 67 and is designed toengage switch arm 61 through another spring arm 68. Switch 67 has a pairof contacts '70 and 71 and in the normal condition 7i and as are incontact. When the ten cent coin actuates switch arm 66, it and contact71 are momentarily connected, as well as momentarily connecting switcharm 61 with contact 6 because of spring arm 68.

It will be seen that a twenty-five cent switch '72; has a switch arm 73and a pair of contacts 74 and 75. In the normal mode of operation switcharm F3 and contact '74 are engaged. Switch terminal 54 is connected toswitch arm through a lead 76 and contact '74 is connected to switch arm66 through a lead '77. Switch contact 70 is connected to switch arm Gilthrough a lead Through these connections it may be seen that power isapplied to switch contact 71 through switch arm 66 whenever a ten centcoin is put in coin chute i7, and a moment later to contact 64 throughswitch arm er. The latter operation is also the result when a five centcoin is deposited.

Contacts 71 and 64- are connected to a switch arm 81 of a switch 82through a pair of leads 83 and 84 respectively. Switch arm 31 isconnected to ground 51 through a coil 85 of a stepper relay or motor 86.Relay as also includes an armature S7 and a stepping vheel 9% which hasa movable stop peg 1. Stop peg 91 generally rests against a stop block92 that is fixed so that the amount of rotation of stepping wheel may becontrolled as will be described subsequently. A series of holes 93 arearranged around stepping wheel 99 so that stop peg 9. 1 may be adjustedas requi ed. A reset relay M has a coil 95 and a solenoid plunger arm Xwhich is spring loaded under compression by a spring 97.

Stepping wheel 99 is supported for rotation by a shaft 1% that passesthrough a bearing tar and has a cam 1&2 attached to its other end. Cam1&2 has a notch position 163 which cooperates with a switch arm Hi l ofa vend switch ifiii. Also fastened to shaft 1% is a return spring 1%that is fixedly fastened at 7. Vend switch 16:5 has a pair of contactslid and ill where contact lfrtl is normally in contact with switch armit'll-*2- and where contact ill is normally open and only makes contactwith switch arm 164- when it drops into notch position 103 of cam 1932.

Returning to the above example, as the live cent coin is deposited andpower is applied momentarily to contact 64- through switch arm 61, coil55 is energized and attracts armature 37 which moves into contact withstepping Wheel 90, which has teeth on its outer edge, to cause it tomove one tooth. As the stepping wheel is moved one tooth, the solenoidplunger 96 follows the tooth periphery and maintains the wheel 9% in itsadvanced position after coil 35 becomes deenergized and armature 87returns to its normal position. It will be seen that return spring 1% isplaced under further tension and that stop peg 91 is moved one toothaway from stop block $2, as well as rotating cam 1% through the sameangle as stepping wheel 9%. The same operation will be followed when thesecond five cent coin is deposited.

When the ten cent coin is deposited, switch arm 66 engages contact 72which also energizes stepping coil 85 and the above steps are repeated,but a moment later switch arm 61 engages contact 64 thereby causingstepping wheel to be advanced another tooth. Thus it will be seen that aten cent coin will advance stepping wheel 99 two teeth while a five centcoin advances it only one tooth. Assuming that stop peg 551 is set sothat notch 1% of cam 1&2; allows switch arm 1% to engage contact 111,vending circuits may be actuated since the twenty cents has beendeposited in the vending machine and credited by the stepping wheel 99.

If the price of the article to be vended is twenty-five cents thenanother circuit is provided for coins of twentylive cent value. Switcharm '73 of twenty-five cent switch 72 is actuated by a coin of thisvalue through a spring arm 11?... As switch arm 73 is moved to engagecontact '75, a permanent magnet 113 holds switch arm '73 in thisposition and a motor lid is energized through a lead 115.

The motor circuit is completed by connecting motor 114 to ground 51. Agear train 116 is connected to motor 114 through a shaft 117 and geartrain 116 is further connected to a five lobe cam 12% through a shaft121. Cam 112i) also has a stud 122 which rotates unitarily with cam 12%and after the fifth lobe has been engaged by switch arm til, stud 12?.engages a spring arm 123 that trips switch arm 73 back to its normalposition and away from magnet 1123. Switch 32 has a contact 124 that isconnected to switch arm '73 through a lead 125, thus supplying power tocoil of stepping relay S6 at five different moments and advancingstepping wheel 96 through an angle of five teeth. Once switch arm '73 isreturned to its normal position, motor 114 no longer is supplied withpower and stops rotating.

the price of the article to be vended is to be increased or decreased,it is only necessary to move stop peg 91 to the appropriate hole 93 andsimultaneously change the sequence of when s 'itch arm til-4 of vendswitch 195 engages contact ill.

Before switch arm 19d reaches notch position 193, it is seen thatcontact 119 is connected to a contact arm of an engagable connectingmeans such as an armature 126 or" a vend relay 127 associated witharticle 12, through a lead Switch arm Ltd is connected to switch contactas through a lead 131 so that power is applied to relay armature 126. Aslon as all the vend relays remain unenergized, another armature 132 of avend relay 153 associated with article 13, is connected to a contact 134engaged with armature 1126, through a connecting lead 155. Similarly, acontact 136 normally engaged with armature 132. is connected to a relayarmature 137 of a vend relay 140 associated with article id, through aconnecting lead ill-1i. in like manner, a relay armature 142 isconnected to a contact 143 normally engaged with armature 137 through alead I144. Relay armature 142 is part of a vend relay led associatedwith article 15'. Armature lid-2 is normally engaged by a contact 145which is connected to a coil l t-'7 of a reject relay through a lead151. Coil 14-? has a plunger arm 152 that is spring loaded under tensionby a spring 153 and has a projecting link 1354 which extends into cointester 56 so that coins will be accepted only one at a time and thosenot being proper coins will be rejected and returned at coin return slot21. A resistor is connected across coil M7 and the unconnected end isconnected to ground 51. It will be seen later that reject relay 25%serves another function, also.

When switch arm ltl l falls into notch 1%, it engages contact 11-1 whichis connected to a terminal 156 of selector switch 22, through aconnecting lead 157. An armature 1-66 of relay 127 normally engages acontact 161 which is also connected to lead 157. As long as the articlerelays remain deenergized, armature lot is connected to a contact 162 ofarticle relay 133 through a connecting lead 163. A terminal 164 ofselector switch 23 is connected to contact 162 through a lead 165. Anarmature 166 of relay 133 which is normally engaged by contact 166 isconnected to a contact 167 of vend relay 144) through a connecting lead176. Contact 167 is connected to a terminal 171 of selector switch 24through a lead 172. An armature 17-3 normally engaged by contact 167 isconnected to a terminal 174 of selector switch 25 through a lead 178.Since power is applied to connecting lead 157, it may be seen that powerexists at a terminal of each selector switch.

Power is also obtained through a holding circuit where a lead W5 isconnected to terminal $4 of power switch 53 and acts as one of the powerlines. A11 armature 176 of relay 127 [is connected to power line througha lead 177 that also connects an armature 189 of relay 127. A lead 181connects armature 1% to an armature 182 of relay 133, to an armature 183of relay 149, and to an armature 184- of relay 14S. Associated witharmature 186 is a contact 135 which is normally not engaged and this isconnected to a coil 1236 of article relay 127 through a connecting lead187. In like manner, a contact 199, is associated with armature 182(normally not engaged) and is connected to a coil 191 by a connectinglead 192. Also, associated with armature 183 is a contact 193 which isnormally not engaged and this is connected to a coil 194 of relay 1451through a connecting lead 195. Relay 145 has a contact 1% associatedwith armature 184 which is not normally engaged that is connected to acoil 127 of the relay by a lead 260. The other end of coil 186 isconnected to a contact 201 of relay 133- through a lead 202. An armature293 normally connected to contact 291 is connected to the yetunconnected end of coil 191 through a lead 204. Armature 293 is alsoconnected to a contact 205 of relay 146 through a lead 2136. An armature2117 normally engaged by contact 2:75 is connected to the unconnectedend of coil 1% through a lead 210. Armature 2137 is also connected to acontact 211 of relay 14-5 through a lead 21 2. Associated with contact211 is an armature 213 which is normally engaged and it is connected tothe unconnected end of coil 197 by a lead 214.

Four dispensing motors 215, 2 16, 217, and 218 are associated witharticles 12, 13, 14, and 15 respectively. A gear train 220 is driven bymotor 215 through a shaft 221 and another gear train 2221s driven bymotor 216 through a shaft 223. In like manner, a gear train 224' isdriven by motor 217 through a shaft 225 and another gear train 226 isdriven by motor 21S through a shaft 227.

Gear train 226 has an output shaft 231) which drives crank arm 36 (seeFIG. 2) and after a complete rotation, disengages an armature 23 1 of alimit switch 232 from a contact 233 and causes it to momentarily engagea contact 234. The inertia of the motor allows armature 23 1 to againengage contact 233. Gear train 224 has an output shaft 235 which alsodrives its crank arm 36 and after a complete rotation, disengages anarmature 236 of a limit switch 237 from a contact 2413 and causes it tomomentarily engage a contact 24-1. Similarly, gear train 222 has anoutput shaft 242 which also drives its crank arm 36 and after a completerotation, disengages an armature 243 of a limit switch 244 from acontact 245 and causes it to momentarily engage a contact 246. Also,gear train 220 has an output shaft 247 which drives its crank arm 36 andafter a complete rotation, disengages an armature 2513 of a limit switch251 from a contact 252 and causes it to momentarily engage a contact253.

Going back to armature 213 of relay 145, a lead 254 connects it tocontact 233 of switch 232. A lead 255 connects armature 231 to contact241) and another lead 256 connects armature 236 to contact 245. Armature25s is connected to ground '51 and the circuit is completed by having alead 257 connect armature 243 to contact 252. It is understood thatthese dispensing circuits are alike and operated alike, therefore theywill not be explained further at this time.

Switch contacts 253, 246, 241, and 234 are all connected to a commonlead 260 to a counter 261 whose function is to count each articledispensed. Counter 251 is further connected to power line 175 by a lead262. Each dispensing motor is connected to ground 51 and motor 215 isconnected to a contact 263 associated with armature 126 normally notengaged, by a connecting lead 264. A contact 265 associated witharmature 132 and normally not engaged, is connected to motor 216 by alead 256. Also, a contact 267 associated with armature 13 7 but normallynot engaged, is connected to motor 217 by a lead 270. In like manner, acontact 2711 associated with armature 142 but normally not engaged, isconnected to motor 218 by a lead 272.

Returning to selector switch 22, another terminal 273 is connected toswitch arm 41 by a lead 274 and this switch arm is engaged by a contact275 when article 12 is in supply. Contact 275 is also connected to lead187. Otherwise, switch arm 41 engages another contact 276 which isconnected to a common lead 277, and it is connected to empty lamp 26which has its circuit completed to ground 51. Thus if there are noarticles in any of the racks 27, the lamp 26 will so indicate, as willbe seen from the connection of the other run-out switches. Switch 46 hasarmature 42 connected to another terminal 286 of selector switch 23through a lead 28 1. Likewise, armature 43 of switch 47 is connected toanother terminal 22 of selector switch 24 through a lead 283. Also,armature 44 of switch 43 is connected to another terminal 284 ofselector switch 25 through a lead 2235. Switch contacts 286, 237, and288 associated with armatures 42, 43, and 44 respectively, all of whichare normally open, are all connected to common lead 277. A contact 2%engaged by armature 42 is connected to lead 192 and a contact 291engaged by armature 43 is connected to lead 195, and another contact 292engaged by armature 44 is connected to lead 213%).

Since power is applied to armature 176 of relay 127, it is applied to acontact 293 engaged thereby normally and is applied to an armature 294of relay 133 through a lead 295. Armature 294 engages a contact 298normally and power is applied to an armature 29 6 of relay 149 through alead 2%. Armature 2'96 engages a contact 300 normally and power isapplied to an armature 3121 of relay 145 through a lead 3&2. Armature3:1 1 engages a contact 303 normally and power is applied to a terminal3% of scavenge switch 21?, through a lead 305. Another terminal 3&6 ofscavenge switch 29 is connected to one end of a coil 3117 of a returnsolenoid relay 3113 through a connecting lead 31:1. The other end ofcoil 3127 is con nected to ground 51. The function of this relay will beexplained later.

A contact 312 associated with armature 176, another contact 313associated with armature 2%, another contact 314 associated witharmature 2%, and a contact 315 associated with armature 3191, are allnormally not engaged, but are all connected to a common lead 316 that isconnected to one end of coil of reset relay 92. Thus it will be evidentthat when the contacts are engaged with their associated armatures,scavenger switch 21) may not be energized and thereby return the coinsdeposited by actuating return relay 31th. The other end of coil 95 isconnected to ground 51. Another lead 317, connects an armature 32d ofrelay 311) to lead 31%. A pair of contacts $21 and 322 associated witharmature 321 are connected respectively to a coil 323 of an acceptsolenoid relay 324 through a lead 325 and to power line 175, through alead 326. Solenoid 324 has a plunger arm 327 that is spring loaded undertension by a spring 330 and has a link 331 which projects into cointester 56 to deflect all acceptable coins for payment.

As was pointed out earlier, power exists at each selector switch and theoperation of the selector circuits in combination with the coin operatedswitches will now be described.

Operation Since the operation of the twenty-live cent circuits have beenfully explained, an example will be given where article 14 is to bepurchased by depositing the two five cent coins and one ten cent coinfor a total cost per article of twenty cents. After the coins aredropped into coin chute 17, stepping relay as is driven to apredetermined point of rotation where switch arm 111 of vend switchfalls into notch 1113 of cam 192. Since switch arm 194 is normalyengaged by contact 119, if at any time previous to pressing one of theselector switches, it is desired to obtain the money placed in themachine, and Which is in the coin tester 56, it is only necessary topress scavenge switch 2% to apply power to return solenoid 314 and causepower to flow from contact 322 to reset relay 94 through lead 316. Thisaction will return stepping wheel 21) to its initial position because ofspring return 106. It should be noted that the coins are returnedbecause the accept solenoid 324 has not been energized 7 through lead3-25 because the power has not been connected. With switch arm 1%4 andcontact 111 engaged, the next step is to press selector switch 24associated with article 14, because power is then present at terminal171. When terminals 171 and 232 are connected by the switch, currentflows to coil 3% if there is a supply of article 14 present, otherwiseempty lamp Z6 is energized and another choice may be made or the moneyreturned as described previously. Once relay 140 is actuated, armatures295, 137, 117?, 133, and M57 are attracted towards coil 194. A holdingcircuit is formed by applying power from line 175 through lead 17'7",through lead 131, to armature 183 so that when selector switch 24 isreleased the vend relay Mil remains energized. The moment armature 2%!discngages contact 2&5 the ground circuit for vend relays 127 and 133 isbroken disabling them and preventing a double dispensing of article 14and 12 or 13 or both. Since a current path to vend relay 145 must bebroken in order to prevent article 15 from being dispensed, this isaccomplished by disengaging armature 173 from contact 167 and cuttingthe current path to article switch 25. At this point, armature 296 whichhas power applied, is engaged with contact Sid and reset solenoid 94- isenergized through lead 316 to release stepping wheel 9% and allow switcharm Hi l to again engage contact 115). Substantially simultaneously,power is applied through lead 317 and 325 to the accept relay 324 toaccept the coins being held in escrow in coin tester 56 and they aredropped down accept chute 57 to be deposited by the machine. Afterswitch arm 143 i and contact 118 are engaged, power is applied to motor217 through armature 137 and lead 2'79. Motor 217 drives crank arm 36and link 35 (see FlGURE 2) to cause drawer 31 to move forward and vendarticle l t. As the output shaft 235 completes one revolution, it movesarmature 236 away from contact 24% thereby breaking the groundconnection to coil 1% causing it to be tie-energized and return to itsnormal position as shown. The inertia of motor 217 is great enough however, to cause armature 236 to engage contact 24- thereby completing theground connection to counter 261 which has power applied through lead262 and cause the counter to count the article being dispensed. Due tothe circuits for returning the coins and dispensing the articles beingcontrolled by the same relay it is impossible for the machine todispense an article and return the money for it it select switch 2% andscavenge switch 25 are pressed simultaneously. In fact, there is acertain delay in the return of stepping wheel 90 to its normal positionso the money is collected before the dispensing motor is energized. Itmay also be observed that while one of the dispensing motors is runningit is impossible to put coins into escrow in the coin tester 56 becausethe reject relay lfitl is energized as long as the vend relay 140 isenergized.

It should be unnecessary to explain the operation of the other circuitsassociated with articles 12, 13, and 15 since they work in the samemanner as that just described.

lt is obvious that certain changes and modifications may be made in theconstruction of our vending machine without departing from the scope andspirit of the invention and it is our intention to cover all suchmodifications and departures in the claims which are appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

l. Vending machine apparatus for vending articles comprising: racks forsupporting a plurality of articles to be vended; a coin tester toreceive coins for payment of an article to be selected and to hold saidcoins in escrow; a power source for operating the vending machine; acoin accept solenoid cooperating with said coin tester so that saidcoins held in escrow will be accepted upon said coin accept solenoidbeing energized; a plurality of coin switches connected to said powersource and each having an extended spring arm projecting into said cointester and being actuated upon receipt of a coin of predetermined value;a credit wheel; a stepping motor connected to said credit Wheel andconnected to said plurality of coin switches and upon being energized,advancing said credit wheel through a given angle of rotation from apredetermined reference; a cam operably connected to said credit wheelthrough a shaft to rotate unitarily therewith; a reset solenoidcooperating with said stepping motor to hold said credit wheel in afixed rotational position after being advanced through said given angleof rotation; a spring return fixedly connected to said cam and saidcredit wheel to return said credit wheel to said predetermined referenceupon said reset solenoid being energized; a vend switch actuated by saidcam upon said cam turning through a predetermined angle; a plurality ofarticle selection witches, each of which is responsive to actuation forselecting one of said articles to be vended; connecting means connectingsaid vend switch to said plurality of coin switches and to saidplurality of article selection switches; a vend relay having a pluralityof contacts and engageable armatures; a holding circuit for keeping saidvend relay energized; a dispenser including motor means and havingcircuit means associated therewith for dispensing said articlesassociated with one of said plurality of article selection switches uponsaid circuit means being ene gized; a limit switch adapted to beactuated by said dispenser for controlling the energization of saidarticle sel ction switch, said vend relay connected to said articleselection switch and said limit switch and responding to energization ofsaid article selection switch, said vend relay connecting said resetsolenoid to said power source so that said credit wheel is free torotate, further interconnecting said holding circuit between said powersource and said vend relay, also interconnecting said vend switch tosaid vend relay through said dispenser so that said dispenser isenergized, and connecting said coin accept solenoid to said power sourceso that said coins being held in escrow by said coin tester are acceptedby the vending machine; and a counter connected to said power source andsaid limit switch, so that said limit switch deenergizes said vend relayand said holding circuit after said article is dispensed therebydeenergizing said dispenser and momentarily energizing said counter tocount the number of said articles dispensed.

2. A vending machine as set forth in claim 1 including a reject solenoidmechanically adapted to cooperate with said coin tester so that allcoins will be rejected by said coin tester if deposited while saiddispencr is operating; and means connecting said reject solenoid to saidvend switch through said vend relay.

3. A vending machine as set forth in claim 2 including a pair ofcircuits having a common switch actuated to a first position by thepresence of an article to be vended and actuated to a second position bythe absence of said article; an indicator for indicating the absence ofan article to be dispensed; and means connecting said switch to saidindicator.

4. A vending machine as set forth in claim 2 including a scavenge switchto be actuated by an operator for recovering coins in said coin tester;a return solenoid having con-tact means connected between said acceptsolenoid and said reset solenoid; means connecting said scavenge switchto said return solenoid so that said coins will be rejected from saidvending machine at any time prior to excitation of said vend relay.

5. In a vending machine for vending articles, apparatus comprising;switch means having a common energized input switch arm and first andsecond contacts alternately interconnected by said switch arm; coinoperable means including motor means responsive to coins deposited in avending machine for actuating said switch arm to said second contactposition after driving a predetermined amount; selecting means connectedto said second contact of said switch means for selecting one of aplurality of articles to be vended from said vending machine andsubstantially simultaneously eliminating all other articles of saidplurality from being selected; means actuated by said selecting meansand connected to said switch means and to said coin operable means foractuating said switch arm to said first contact and accepting forpayment of said article selected, said coins deposited in said vendingmachine; and dispensing means connected to said first contact of saidswitch means for dispensing said article selected and breaking theconnection to said first contact.

6. The apparatus as set forth in claim including article zero quantityindicating means responsive to said selecting means for indicatim zeroquantity of said article selected where none exists; and coin returnmeans connected to said coin operable means for actuating said switcharm to said first contact and returning said coins deposited for paymentof said article selected when said article is non-existent.

7. The apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein said dispensing meansincludes a crank arm and a link connected to a drawer with continuousside portions slightly larger in dimension than said article to bedispensed so that said article is nestled in said drawer; a plateoverlying said crank arm and link adjacent said drawer at its ippermostside; a rack for supporting said articles so that the bottom articlelies in said drawer; and motor means connected to said crank arm to movesaid crank arm and link beyond said rack so that said articles aresupported by said plate but said article in said drawer is dispensedfrom said vending machine.

8. Vending machine apparatus for vending articles comprising: a cointester to receive coins for payment of an article to be selected and tohold said coins in escrow; a power source for operating the vendingmachine; coin accepting means cooperating with said coin tester so thatsaid coins held in escrow will be accepted upon said coin acceptingmeans being energized; a plurality of first switch means connected tosaid power source and each having means cooperating with said cointester and being actuated upon receipt of a coin of predetermined value;a second switch means; motor means connected to said plurality of firstswitch means and upon being energized, advancing a given amount from apredetermined reference to actuate said second switch means uponreaching a predetermined condition; stop means cooperating with saidmotor means to maintain said motor means in a fixed position after beingadvanced said given amount; means connected to said motor means forreversing said motor means and driving it to said predeterminedreference upon said stop means being energized; third switch means;means connecting said second switch means to said plurality of saidfirst switch means and to said third switch means; a holding circuit forsupplying power through an alternate circuit; dispensing means fordispensing said articles including deenergizing means for deenergizingsaid dispensing means and said holding circuit after dispensing saidarticle; and relay means connected to said third switch means and saiddispensing means to respond to energization by actuation of said thirdswitch means,

said third switch means connecting said stop means to said power sourceso that said stop means is energized, further interconnecting saidholding circuit between said power source and said stop means, alsointerconnecting said second switch means to said relay means throughsaid dispensing means, and connecting said coin accepting means to saidpower source so that said coins being held in escrow by said coin testerare accepted by the vending machine.

9. A vending machine as set forth in claim 8 including means fordisabling certain dispensing means after said third switch means hasbeen actuated, said means being connected to said third switch means andbeing a part of said relay means.

10. Vending machine apparatus for vending articles comprising:electrical supply means for operating the vending machine; coin testingmeans for retaining coins after being deposited but not accepting saidcoins until a predetermined condition is reached; coin actuated switchmeans connected to said electrical supply means and cooperating withsaid coin testing means to provide intermittent electrical power outputsignals; vending switch means connected to said coin actuated switchmeans having first and second contact means for energizing one of afirst and second electrical circuit a motor means connected to saidvending switch means and including means responsive to said outputsignals from said coin actuated switch means for actuating said vendingswitch means to one of said first and second contact means; vendingselection means including a plurality of relay means responsive toelectrical signals from said second electrical circuit of said vendingswitch means for selecting one article only of a plurality of articlesto be dispensed and providing an output signal to said motor means sothat said motor means is returned to an initial condition therebycausing said vending switch means to engage said first electricalcircuit; means including coin accept relay means for connecting saidvending selection means to said coin testing means and being responsiveto electrical signals from said second electrical circuit of saidvending switch means so that said coins are accepted; and dispensingmeans connected to said vending switch means and responsive toelectrical signals from said first electrical circuit of said vendingswitch means for dispensing said article selected including a pluralityof dispensing motor means each energizable by one of said plurality ofrelay means included in said vending selection means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,663,398 Skillman Dec. 22, 1953 2,777,603 Baum .Tan. 15, 1957 2,876,883Baker et al. Mar. 10, 1959 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OFCORRECTION Pa tent N0. 3 113 656 December 10 1963 Kenneth C; Zeigle oa15 It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numberedpatent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should readas corrected below.

Column 1O Lin 25 for circuit a motor" read circuit;

motor Signed and sealed *m s 5th day of May 1964;

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD J BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner ofPatents

5. IN A VENDING MACHINE FOR VENDING ARTICLES, APPARATUS COMPRISING;SWITCH MEANS HAVING A COMMON ENERGIZED INPUT SWITCH ARM AND FIRST ANDSECOND CONTACTS ALTERNATELY INTERCONNECTED BY SAID SWITCH ARM; COINOPERABLE MEANS INCLUDING MOTOR MEANS RESPONSIVE TO COINS DEPOSITED IN AVENDING MACHINE FOR ACTUATING SAID SWITCH ARM TO SAID SECOND CONTACTPOSITION AFTER DRIVING A PREDETERMINED AMOUNT; SELECTING MEANS CONNECTEDTO SAID SECOND CONTACT OF SAID SWITCH MEANS FOR SELECTING ONE OF APLURALITY OF ARTICLES TO BE VENDED FROM SAID VENDING MACHINE ANDSUBSTANTIALLY SIMULTANEOUSLY ELIMINATING ALL OTHER ARTICLES OF SAIDPLURALITY FROM BEING SELECTED; MEANS ACTUATED BY SAID SELECTING MEANSAND CONNECTED TO SAID SWITCH MEANS AND TO SAID COIN OPERABLE MEANS FORACTUATING SAID SWITCH ARM TO SAID FIRST CONTACT AND ACCEPTING FORPAYMENT OF SAID ARTICLE SELECTED, SAID COINS DEPOSITED IN SAID VENDINGMACHINE; AND DISPENSING MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID FIRST CONTACT OF SAIDSWITCH MEANS FOR DISPENSING SAID ARTICLE SELECTED AND BREAKING THECONNECTION TO SAID FIRST CONTACT.